Reel for coiled material



Sept. 11, 1956 R. F. HERR REEL FOR COILED MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Sept. 27A, 1951 ,w f mi f i W m m w? m z w wm/ m m 6 .W w e if.-

INVENTOR. RIC/MRD f HERR Horney Sept. 11, 1956 R. F. HERR 2,762,577

REEL FOR coILED 'MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 25 l Y#l l; r`\ H Z/ /7 27 Z0 I 3 Z6 i; 20 /7 \30 ZI Z7 l //////////7 @n-32 INVEN TOR. RJcHH/o E #ffm United States Patent O REEL RoR 'corLnD MATERIALRichard F. Herr, Warren, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to TheHerr Equipment Corporation, Warren, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication September 27, 1951, Serial No. 248,480

3 Claims. (Cl. 242-72) My invention relates to reels for coiledmaterial, more particularly to reels used for handling coils of sheetsteel, and the principal object of my invention is to provide new andimproved reels of such character.

The ordinary reel used in handling of coils of material, such as sheetmetal, comprises a collapsible drum or mandrel which is contractible sothat it may be easily inserted in the eye fof the coil and which isexpandible so that it rmly engages the surface of the coil defining theeye.

In many cases the reel is aligned with other mechanisms. For example,when the reel is used as a pay-olf reel it may be aligned with a slitteror cut-off device. Under such circumstances, it is desirable to maintainthe coiled material in predetermined alignment with devices insubsequent work order and such alignment has theretofore been dithcultto maintain because the coiled material might not always assume apredetermined relation on the reel o-r because the coil was not woundwith the edges of the ysheet in alignment and an endwise bulge wasformed which prevented the coil from assuming predetermined position onthe reel.

My invention overcomes the ditliculties inherent in prior artconstructions and makes it possible to maintain the coiled material inpredetermined position on the reel, thus maintaining proper relationbetween the coiled material and subsequent material working devices.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part ofthis application, there is shown, for purposes of illustration, anembodiment which my invention may assume, and in these drawings:

Figure l is a central longitudinal fragmentary section of a reelembodying my invention, and showing parts in one relation,

Figure 2 is a sectional view `similar to Figure l but showing parts inanother relation,

Figure 3 is an enlarged generally diagrammatic view, showing parts inone relation in full lines and parts-in another relation in dot-dashlines in order to provide clear comparison between the parts in the twopositions, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view of the reel shown in Figure l, partsbeing shown in section to better illustrate the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of the in ventiron thereindisclosed comprises a drum or mandrel which is adapted to support a coilof material, shown in dotted lines at C. The drum is contractible sothat it may be readily inserted within the eye of the coil, and isexpandible to firmly engage with the material defining such eye. i

In the embodiment herein disclosed, the drum is formed of four sections11, each of arcuate cross-section so that when the drum is in expandedrelation it forms a generally cylindrical member.

A shaft 12 is supported for rotation by suitable bearings 13, and thisshaft may be freely rotatable, or may have connection with a frictionbrake, or may be motor driven, and since any of the foregoing may be ofcom- 2,762,577 Patented Sept. 1l, 1956 ICC mercial design, suchconstruction is not shown. In the' embodiment disclosed, the shaft, anddrum supportedl thereby, are supported in outboard-bearing relation sothat the coil lof material may =be disposed over the drum by movementfrom the open end thereof.

A sleeve 14 is slidable longitudinally along the shaft 12 and is formedwith four pairs of ears 15, 15a each pair being directed toward arespective lone of the sections 11. Each of the sections is providedwith a pair of ears 16, 16a directed toward respective ears 15, 15a.Spaced links 17 are pivotally connected to respective ears 15a, 16a asby pivot pins 18, 19 and links 20, of H construction, are pivotallyconnected to respective ears 15, 16 as by pivot pins 20a, 21.

In the embodiment herein disclosed, the shaft 12 is formed with alongitudinal central opening and a rod 22 passes through this openingand extends outwardly of the free end of the shaft. A cap 23 is boltedto the sleeve 14 and the extremity of the rod 22 is threaded into thecap. A lock nut 24 prevents unintentional disassembly of the connectedparts. The rod 22 may be moved longitudinally in any suitable manner, asuggested form being a uid cylinder (not shown) which has rotatableconnection with the rod beyond the bearing 13. Instead of a uid motor, anut and screw arrangement may be used to effect movement of the sleeve.

A face plate 25 is disposed transversely of the axis of the shaft 12 andis formed with a central collar 26 which, in this embodiment, is formedwith four milled slots 27 which are 90 apart. The collar is secured torotation with the shaft 12 by means of a key and keyway 28, and sleeve14 is also secured to rotation with the shaft 12 by any suitable means,not shown, which additionally permits relative axial movement of theshaft 12 and sleeve 14.

In the embodiment disclosed, four long links 29 have pivotalv connectionWith the collar 26 and with respective sections 11, and as shown in thedrawings each link 29 is pivotally secured within a respective slot 27by a pivot pin 30. Each link passes between the respective pair'oflinks'17 and is pivoted to its respective section bythe pivot pin 21which connects the respective H-link to its section 11.

The links 17, 20 provide parallel linkage which will cau-se the sections11 to mrove toward or away from the axis of the shaft 12 depending uponthe direction of movement of the sleeve 14 as actuated by the rod 22.Each link 29 causes its section 11 to swing in an `arc defined by thepin21 turning about the center formed by the pin 30 and since thelinks29 are relatively long the arc will be relatively shallow. However, thearc is sulficient to move the sections toward the face plate 25 as thesections are moved away from the axis of the shaft 12.

In operation, the drum is collapsed by urging the rod 22 to the left7 asviewed in the drawings. Such action rrr'oves the sleeve 14 to the left,causing the links 17, 20 to pivot about their respective pivot pins andfold inwardly toward the sleeve 14. The long links, swinging througharcs 31 (see Figure 3) will cause the sections to move away from theface plate 25, as shown by the space at 32.

The drum or mandrel is now in position for receiving a coil of material,and such coil is assembled by moving it so that the drum extends throughthe eye of the coil. The coil is assembled so that its one side ispositioned somewhat near the face plate, the exact position beingunimportant, as will appear.

The drum or mandrel may then be expanded by urging the nod 22 to move tothe right, as viewed in the drawings. Such action moves the sleeve 14 tothe right and causes the links 17, 20 to move to straightened positionas shown in Figure '1. The long links, swinging through the arc 31A willmove the sections 11 toward the face plate and thus crowd the adjacentside of the coil against the face plate. In the event this side of thecoil is bulged outwardly, such crowding action will tend to align theedges of the convolutions of the coil. Since the face plate may beaccurately aligned with machinery in subsequent relation along the Workline, the coil will always be mounted in accurate alignment with suchsubsequent machinery.

In view of the foregoing it will ybe apparent to those skilled in theart that I have accomplished iat least the principal object of myinvention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the Iart thatthe embodiment herein described maybe variously changed and imodiiied,without `departing trom the spirit of the invention, and that theinvention is :capable of uses and has advantages not herein specificallydescribed, hence it will tbe appreciated that the herein 'disclosedembodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limitedthereto.

I claim:

l. A reel device adapted to :be yaligned 'with respect to materialWorking apparatus `for the purpose of aligning zone side of an apertnred:coil of sheet material with said apparatus which performs sulbsequentoperations on said material, comprising a rotatable drum composed of aplurality of radially expansible and contractible segments which whencontracted provide tor receiving the coil thereover yand `which whenexpanded engage wi-th the lwall of the coil `aperture to support thecoil, a tace plate rotatable with said drum and having a radiallyextending surface projecting ybeyond the periphery of the drum, andmeans for shitting said drum segments radially outwardly and forrelatively shifting said segments and `said lface plate yaxially towardeach other, the outward radial shifting of said segments expanding saiddrum into engagement with the wall of the coil aperture to securelyclamp the coil `on the drum, and the relative axial shifting of saidseg-ments and `said face plate assuring interabutment of said .coil sidewith the tace plate surface and consequent `aligmnent of said coil sidewith said material Working apparatus.

2. A reel device tor aligning one side of an apertured coil of sheetmaterial with material working apparatus which performs subsequentoperations on said material, comprising a rotatable race plate heldagainst axial movement and having a radially yextending surface adaptedto be faligned with said material Iworking apparatus, a drum rotatablewith said face plate and composed of a plurality of Iradially expansibleand contractible segments each having a coil supporting portion disposed'at one side of said face plate adjacent to said surface, said 'segmentswhen contracted disposing their coil supporting portions in apredetermined position 'with respect to said face plate surface iandproviding for reception of lthe coil thereon, and link means forshifting said segments radially outwardly to expand the drum and forshifting said segments axially to move said `coil supporting portions`from said predetermined position in a direction toward said face platesurface, the outward radial shifting of said segments expanding saiddrum into engagement with the wall of the coil aperture to securelyclamp the coil on the drum, and the axial shitting of said `segmentsmov-ing the supported coil toward said falce plate surface to assureinterabutment of said coil side `with the tace plate surface andconsequent alignment of said ycoil `side With said material Working`apparatus,

3. A reel device for aligning one side of an apertured coil of sheetmaterial with material working apparatus which performs subsequent`oper-ations on said material, lcomprising a rotatable supporting shaft,a sleeve rotatable with `said shaft and movable axially therealong, adrum composed of `a plurality of radially expansible and contractib-lesegments which when contracted provide for receiving the Icoil thereoverand which when expanded engage with the wall of the coil aperture tosupport the coil, a face plate rotatable with said shaft and heldagainst axial movement, said lface plate having a radially extendingsurfce projecting laeyond the periphery of the drum land adapted to tbealigned lwith said material working apparatus, iirst link rneans`between each of said drum segments and said sleeve, each havingopposite ends pivoted to a respective drum segment and said sleeve,second link means between each of said drum segments and said faceplate, each having `opposite ends pivoted to a respective drum `segment`and said tace plate, said second link rneans being `disposed at suchangle to the axis of said drum to cause shifting of said segmentsaxially only in `a direction toward said face plate surface duringexpansion of said drum, and actua-tor means for shifting said sleeveaxially on said shaft in 'a direction to simultaneously `cau-se saidtrst Iand second llink means to expand said drum segments intoengagement with the wall of the coil aperture to securely clamp the coilon the and to shift said segments `axially in a direction toward saidface plate surface to move the supported coil toward said surface :andassure interabutment of said coil side with the face plate surface andconsequent yalignment of said coil side with said material workingapparatus.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 538,939Warren et al. May 7, 1895 1,093,284 Mehlum Apr. 14, 1914 1,717,832Brandwood etal. June 18, 1929 2,270,064 Littell Jan. 13, 1942 2,296,662Greenaway Sept. 22, 1942 2,335,602 v Nash et al. Nov. 30, 1943

